e.l.f Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

I think the ELF blush and bronzer duo are an amazing value particularly if you're on a budget or you're beginning your adventure into the makeup world. There's no need to spend up large when you're testing the waters. I bought the majority of my ELF products prior to when they were available in New Zealand from the ELF website via Shipito.

I managed to snag this for under $NZD5.00 during the website's 50% sale which is an absolute steal for 8.4g of product. The compact comes with a good mirror and is slightly bigger than a card case and is made of a sturdy matte black case that is reminiscent of NARS packaging. The great thing about the compact is that you can easily wipe it down.

St Lucia

The blush is a light peach shade with gold flecks and despite how smooth it looks in the pan it's quite powdery so expect a lot of kick up. The pigmentation is buildable and I feel that it shows up more easily on my chocolate skin so I don't have to go in for more product compared to the lovelies with a lighter complexion. The bronzer on the other hand is what gets on my nerves. The pigmentation is almost perfect but can look slightly muddy. The texture is less powdery and glides on better than the blush. The problem is the SHIMMER. This could have been a lovely affordable staple for me but I can't do much with a shimmery bronzer.

Fiji

ELF released the only matte version (for now) of this product so here was my opportunity to find a bronzer without shimmer. The blush is a berry mauve with great pigmentation so I have to go in with a light hand. I don't find this blush as powdery as St Lucia so I don't feel that I'm wasting so much product. The bronzer is a beautiful milk chocolate but it's not dark enough on my skin tone to be of any real use to me. Unfortunately the pigmentation is not as good as the bronzer in St Lucia so I have to go in with a heavy hand to get any decent colour pay off.

Overall the staying power of the blushes were impressive, it got me through the day without fading too much. The bronzers on the other hand are a bit of a miss for me. I feel that one could find gems in ONE compact but I found that even when I owned all 4 not ONE compact could offer me the perfect blush and bronzer combination. When you need to travel light, taking the entire collection is not an option.

I got this off iherb, as I had heard good things about it and it is relatively cheap. I really wanted to try contouring (jumping onto the bandwagon and thought why not try slim down my face and bring out my cheekbones). I like the black packaging, I think it looks simple and sleek. The compact is easy to open and close and has a good surface area for my brush. It’s also got a plastic cover over to try and stop the powder from going onto the mirror, but still gets powder on the mirror, however this doesn’t really bother me because I don’t really like using mirrors in compacts. The powder is more shimmery as I thought, however is not a bad contour colour. It is not super smooth and blendable, but I have learnt to work with it, and still get a good result. It gives a nice subtle contour and shape to my cheekbones which I like, and have started to use a lot more. Sometimes though, it can look a little too brown and slightly orange which is something to be careful of! I don’t really use the pink side too much, sometimes I put it over the darker colour where I have contoured, however I don’t feel it makes too much of a difference and have not tried it as a blush on its own yet! (will update this review when I try it!) I have had this product for a while now and have just hit the pan so I must be using it a fair amount! As this is a bronzer and not specifically a contour (but i use it as a contour), it does a pretty good job. I am thinking about repurchasing it (also being on a poor student budget doesn’t help make up obsessions), however I have been loving contouring and have been using this a lot. I think it's really good for the price too! I will probably re purchase while I look for something better, but I am happy using it at the moment!

I have this in saint Lucia, I like the colours. The pink is a pretty like pink and the bronzer is not too orange or ashy. However my problem is that is too shimmery. I got this of iherb and it was about five dollars so it is good for the rice but I cant don't use it for everyday because I do not like the shimmers.

Purchased this kit off iherb for around $3.00. The packaging is nice and does't look cheap and it has a mirror. The blush shade is a pretty pink however when I applied it it was very powdery. The bronzer is terrible despite only applying a small amount on my brush and lots of blending it still managed to look like a muddy mess on my face. I would not recommend. For $3.00 you get what you pay for.

I use this for my daily work makeup. It lasts the duration of the day. Sweating can make it run but for the price it is a must have for the quick daily applications.

This product is great, especially if you are a beginner. It's really cheap and surprisingly does a great job. I wasn't expecting much from this product and didn't think the shades would match my skin, but they do. I have light-medium skin tone with a warm undertone. The blush looks quite dark so I thought it would be too pink for my skin but it gives a nice warm pink colour. The bronzer is quite dark for me but is good for contouring.

Now the way this product is advertised is a bit confusing as its called a blush bronzer due contour kit. And I didn't know this to begin with, but you shouldn't really contour with a bronzer. This is because a bronzer isn't usually matte, and therefore won't create a good shadow. And this bronzer does have a little bit of a sheen to it (tiny sparkles). Which means it's not ideal to use for contouring as advertised. In saying that, I think it's still good and is passable as it still creates a good shadow. This is why I think this product is more suitable for beginners.

Both the blush and bronzer are powder products. They are easy to use and apply and are also quite pigmented. Make sure you shake any excess powder off your brush before applying to your face as I find my brush picks up quite a bit of product. Otherwise it can look quite heavy on your face and it's hard to blend out.

Elf products are so cheap and affordable. I got this online for $3 USD. So it is definitely worth the money, even if the bronzer isn't a proper contouring product.

Overall even though I really like this product I probably wouldn't buy this again. This is because it is great as a first time product (I've never used blush/bronzer or contoured before), but I would probably look for something that it more suitable for contouring. I would use the bronzer as a face bronzer but the shade is a little too dark for my liking.

I popped this into an iherb order for $3us when I was getting ready to go on holiday to Brazil. I bought it primarily for the bronzer as I was definitely going to need a bit more colour than I naturally possess. I was immediately impressed with the sturdy packaging. Instead of being a hard plastic, it has a tactile, rubberised feel to it. It has an adequate sized mirror and reminds me of NARS' packaging. It certainly didn't look like it cost $3.

I got this in St Lucia and as well as the bronzer it contains a coral blusher with slight gold flecks in it (again, ELF seemed to have been inspired by NARS) It is easy to apply and suits my skin tone. I tend to go in a bit heavy with the blush as I apply setting powder afterward which always takes it down a bit. In the end it was this blusher that I used the most, and actually managed to completely pan it. I barely touched the bronzer which although it looks good in the palette, it had a muddy appearance on my skin.

Whilst I really liked the blusher, I don't think I would purchase this again as I wouldn't use the bronzer. Even though it's a bargain price, I don't like wasting product. I would recommend it to others who might get full use out of it. Also, the sturdy packaging and the fact the blush stayed solid right until the end means it's a good one to have kicking around in your handbag for any touch ups through out the day.

I tried the St Lucia duo and I really loved both the blush and the bronzer. The blush is such a stunning shade, it is easy to build up and is great to provide that perfect flush of colour to the cheeks. It does have some sparkle in it, so keep that in mind if you are not into shimmery blushes. But I just find it gives a nice glow and isn't overly glittery. The bronzer works well with a light hand and gradually building it up. Too much can look a bit muddy so just be careful to apply a small amount and blend well. It gives a nice warmth to the face without being orange! I also like this little compact as it was great to travel with. Also, of course another big plus is that this is an affordable and cruelty free option that you can buy at Kmart!

I remember getting this product when I was first starting to really get into makeup. I loved the colour of both products, and I still love them now! The size gives you a good amount of product and makes it easy to travel with. I use the St Lucia colour, and bare in mind that the blush does have some shimmer if you don't like a shimmery blush!